A new take on a golden oldie, this is a firm favourite in our family. You can bake individual pies for lunch — a distinct bonus if you’re eating alone — and serve with a leafy salad.

Don’t be afraid to pep up the pie with your favourite seasoning or mixed herbs. The delicious cauliflower mash can be used instead of potato mash in so many dishes that you’ll never feel you’re missing out on mash again. As a side dish, the mash makes enough for 3–4 servings.

*Health benefits

Loaded with folate, cauliflower helps improve cell growth and reproduction and acts as a blood and liver detoxer.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) lean minced (ground) lamb, organic if possible
• 2 anchovies, chopped
• 1/2 x 400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes (sugar and additive free)
• 125 ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) tomato passata (puréed tomato)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia (optional)

Cauliflower mash

• 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, or organic butter (if tolerated)
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes

Method:

• Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion, garlic and celery and sauté over medium–low heat for 8–10 minutes, or until the onion is golden brown.
• Add the lamb and anchovies and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring often to break up any lumps in the meat.
• Stir in the chopped tomatoes, passata, salt and pepper, then cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. If there is excess liquid in the pan, turn the heat up and simmer, uncovered, for a few minutes more. Stir in the stevia, if using.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220ºC (425ºF/Gas 7) and make the cauliflower mash. Put the florets in a steamer over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, covered, until tender — the florets can be verging on soft, but shouldn’t be falling apart.
• Transfer the cauliflower to a blender or food processor and add the olive oil, yeast flakes, a pinch of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
• Blend until smooth.
• Transfer the cooked lamb mixture to an 18 cm (7 inch) square baking dish and level the surface.
• Gently spoon the cauliflower mash over the top, scraping a fork across the surface to create little trenches in the mash.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the mash has a crispy top.
• Remove the pie from the oven and serve in warmed wide bowls. Fresh minted peas are an excellent accompaniment.
• Serves 4

For more gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast and sugar-free recipes visit supercharged.wpengine.com

Perfect for Sunday Night "Soup Night"

This hearty vegetarian soup will warm up cold winter nights and tastes especially good served with crusty gluten free bread. Perfect for Sunday night "Soup Night!"

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 140 g (5 oz) sugar-free tomato paste (concentrated purée)
• 400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes (sugar and additive free)
• 150 g (51/2 oz) green beans, topped,
• tailed and cut into 3–4 cm (11/4–11/2 inch) lengths
• 1/4 cabbage, coarsely shredded
• 1/2 cauliflower, roughly chopped
• 2 zucchini (courgettes), diced
• 1 red capsicum (pepper), diced
• 1 green capsicum (pepper), diced
• 1 bunch kale or 1/2 bunch silverbeet
• (Swiss chard), stalks trimmed and leaves coarsely shredded
• 1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cups) additive-free vegetable stock or filtered water
• 1 handful herbs, such as parsley, thyme, rosemary and basil, chopped

Method

• Heat the coconut oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and lightly brown the onion, garlic and celery over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and chopped tomatoes and cook for a minute or two.
• Add the beans, cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, capsicums and kale, and cook for 1–2 minutes more. Add the stock or water and, if necessary pour, in enough extra filtered water to cover the vegetables.
• Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
• If you prefer a smoother soup, transfer to a blender or use a hand-held blender and whiz until the desired texture is reached.
• Serve hot, sprinkled with the herbs.
• Serves 6–8

For more gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast and sugar-free recipes visit supercharged.wpengine.com

Golden Quinoa

If you sweet on Superfoods then this recipe is a powerhouse of nutrition.

First things first, Quinoa (which is pronounced keenwah), it isn’t a grain. In fact is a relative of my other favourite supercharged ingredient, spinach. When cooked, Quinoa resembles couscous with a slightly al dente texture to it. As it cooks and tastes just like a grain it is wonderful for tired tummies that find grains difficult to digest.

While this humble dish is perfect for the occasional vegetarian in you, the addition of Quinoa is a wonderful source of protein to boot, containing all nine essential amino acids that the body requires for hormone and muscle production. Interestingly, Quinoa also contains magnesium, a wonderful mineral that allows muscles to relax…the perfect ingredient for dinner after a long and tiring day.

Pesto Zoodles

My favourite culinary herb is basil, by the way, you should really try this delicious pesto zoodle pasta dish whilst I'm on the subject… Pesto is a bonus for me as it is a highly antiseptic and antibacterial herb. Basil has traditionally been used as a digestive aid for upset tummies. Most herbs, given their pungency and intensity, often impart great healing properties; most if not all are wonderful internal cleansers.

For this reason, I make it a ritual to use my home grown herbs or buy fresh organic herbs every time I do a fruit and vegetable shop. It’s so easy to tear a few leaves here or there to garnish over your breakfast, lunch or dinner. And given our need to eat more raw green veggies, the simple act of garnishing with herbs takes you one step closer towards your journey in health, whole foods and healing.

To intensify the creaminess of this dish I’ve added the wonderful, deep orange hue of butternut pumpkin. The tangerine tone indicates another stellar property of this supercharged dish, carotenoids. Carotenoids are shown to protect against heart disease and can assist in preventing macular degeneration, amongst other wonderful things! To sweeten the deal, just a cup serving of butternut is almost half your daily need for vitamin C!

I like to dose my dish with generous servings of heart healthy fats. Taking a lead role in this incredible heart-warming dish are walnuts. With a handful of walnuts containing twice as many antioxidants as an equivalent amount of other common nut varieties, walnut will up-the-anti when it comes to nutrients and provide you with long lasting energy.

It’s such a simple dish to make too, just whip out your casserole dish, make a pot of tea and meditate on the swirling of quinoa, the browning of onions and the act of eating wholesome and good-for-you foods.

Quinoa with Winter Squash & Yellow Pepper

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• ½ cup basil leaves torn
• 1 butternut squash peeled and chopped into 5 cm chunks
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 2/3 cup yellow pepper, sliced
• 1/3 cup brown onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup raw walnuts
• ½ tsp sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Shredded coconut to garnish

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over high heat
• Add garlic, yellow peppers and onion and sauté until browned
• Add squash and cook for about 10 minutes
• Meanwhile rinse quinoa thoroughly
• Stir stock, rinsed quinoa, walnut, coconut milk and salt and pepper into the pan
• Cover with a lid and reduce heat, simmering for 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed
• Spoon into wide bowls and garnish with shredded coconut and torn basil